Highly selective near-infrared fluorescent turn-on probe with a large Stokes shift for the detection of hydrogen sulfide and imaging in live cells

Abstract

The signalling molecules of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) play an important role in a variety of physiological and pathological processes, and its abnormal concentration causes Down's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes mellitus. Thus, the development of an effective detection tool is of vital importance and challenge. In this paper, we synthesized a new “turn-on” hydrogen sulfide near-infrared fluorescent probe (DCM-H2S). Remarkably, this probe demonstrated an unanticipated level of selectivity for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) over other analytes, rendering it suitable for the precise determination of H2S in both in vitro and in vivo settings. Expectedly, the probe exhibited unexpectedly heightened selectivity for H2S compared to other analytes, making it a viable option for the specific determination of H2S in both in vitro and in vivo applications. With the addition of H2S, the probe exhibited distinct turn-on near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence intensity alterations in the DMSO/H2O system, together with a high sensitivity (LOD = 0.13 μM) and large Stokes shift (121 nm). More importantly, the probe has been successfully applied to bioimaging for real-time, dynamic tracking of exogenous and endogenous H2S. The outcomes showed that the probe (DCM-H2S) provides a rapid and effective detection tool for monitoring H2S in vivo.